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Months after resignation, Sioux Falls Development Foundation is looking for new top executive

Organizers with the Sioux Falls Development Foundation announced Thursday they formed an 11-member search committee and hired an executive search company Waverly Partners in Cleveland, Ohio, to help with the process.

Months after resignation, Sioux Falls Development Foundation is looking for new top executive

The Sioux Falls Development Foundation and Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce have launched SiouxFalls.com, a website designed as a community portal where people can learn about all things Sioux Falls.
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Logo for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.(Photo: Contributed by the Sioux Falls Development Foundation)

Sioux Falls’ economic development group has kicked off a national search for a new leader.

Organizers with the Sioux Falls Development Foundation announced Thursday they formed an 11-member search committee and hired an executive search company Waverly Partners in Cleveland, Ohio, to help with the process.

Ex-President Slater Barr resigned unexpectedly in November after nine years leading the organization, which markets Sioux Falls to outside businesses and in the last couple of years developed an industrial park in the northwestern corner of town.

Acting President Dean Dziedzic has been serving in an interim role since and said the group will benefit from fresh ideas.

"It's certainly a transition period, but we're looking forward to new leadership to take the organization forward," Dziedzic said.

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The group is looking for candidates with at least 5 to 10 years of experience and a history of responsible career growth, according to the job description.

The description doesn’t give a specific salary range but says the position comes with “an attractive compensation package,” as well as benefits and some reimbursement for relocation costs.

Dziedic said the job will require a visionary type of candidate, with a knack for strategic planning and looking at the big picture in terms of recruiting new businesses to the city.

Whoever gets the job will also be asked to continue the work of coaxing manufacturers and other businesses to Foundation Park. The state and city-supported industrial park spent two years trying to attract an anchor tenant before landing Win Chill LLC, a refrigerated food warehouse.

“We have developed the position summary to reflect the experience and leadership characteristics of our preferred candidate,” Bob Thimjon, who is leading the search committee, said in an emailed statement. “Our committee is open to executives with backgrounds in economic development, chamber of commerce, real estate development, and other types of nonprofits or related economic development leadership experience with a commitment to the Sioux Falls regional community.”